A Kano Upper Sharia Court has sentenced a 38-year-old man, Shafi’u Abubakar, to death by hanging for setting a mosque ablaze, resulting in the death of 23 worshippers.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Kadi Halhalatu Khuza’i-Zakariyya held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt on four charges — culpable homicide, attempted murder, causing grievous hurt, and mischief by fire — against the defendant.
Abubakar, a resident of Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State, was convicted for the May 15, 2024 attack in Gadan Larabar Abasawa village.
He reportedly poured petrol inside a mosque during early morning prayers, set it alight, and fled.
The victims sustained severe burns and were rushed to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, where 23 of them died.
The judge noted that although only two of the seven prosecution witnesses gave admissible evidence, their testimonies were sufficient to convict the defendant.
“Pw4, Ibrahim Salisu, did not see the accused set the mosque ablaze but saw him running from the scene. His account serves as circumstantial evidence,” Khuza’i-Zakariyya said.
She also admitted the testimony of Pw7, a police officer, who tendered Abubakar’s confessional statement.
The judge added that the burns on the convict’s hands further implicated him in the crime.
The court sentenced Abubakar to death by hanging for murder and ordered that he be flogged 100 strokes for attempted murder.
Additionally, he is to pay a fine of ₦1,500 for causing grievous harm and receive 50 strokes for mischief by fire. He was also ordered to receive 150 lashes as a cumulative corporal punishment.
In an unusual directive, the court mandated the Kano State Government to confiscate and sell the convict’s tricycle to fund the renovation of the damaged mosque.
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